Ukrainians fear Russia will keep them from returning home after Melania-brokered ceasefire

Residents of a Russian-occupied Ukrainian city are fearing they’ll be shipped off to Russia and barred from returning home — even as they flee a humanitarian crisis under a ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump.The truce in Oleshky, a city in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region occupied by Russian forces since the first day of the invasion in Feb.2022, is intended to allow citizens to escape after months of dwindling supplies.But residents are worried that those who would want to return to Ukrainian-controlled areas could instead be taken to Russia or occupied Crimea.“The local residents of Oleshky are deeply concerned that the Russians will not stick to their demands, take them to Russia, and not transport them to Ukraine,” Oksana Pohomii, a deputy of the Kherson city council, told The Telegraph.“People are currently busy filling out forms, those who have decided to try and leave,” she said, adding that demining had begun along the planned evacuation route.However, Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, posted on X on Wednesday stating that “30 hours of the ceasefire in Oleshky have passed without a single incident.”“Our shared goal is to ensure that civilians in Oleshky receive assistance and to create the conditions for the safe departure of those who need it,” he added.

“We continue our work.What matters most is people’s lives and safety.”It still remains unclear how Russian authorities will treat Ukrainians evacuated from Oleshky and whether Russian occupation authorities will provide the residents a “legitimate and duress-free choice” to return to Ukraine, according to an Institute for the Study of War assessment.On Oct.

27, Vladimir Putin described Oleshky as a “Russian settlement” in a phone call, despite it remaining a Ukrainian territory under international law.Institute for the Study of War states that Russian authorities “may insist that Ukrainian citizens who live under Rus...